A Slow Climb In Both Polls
MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/28/13)—Concordia reaped the benefit of the program's 500th career victory by moving up in both major NCAA Division III rankings this week.
The Cobbers moved up three spots in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and are now ranked 19th. Concordia stepped up one spot in the D3football.com poll and is now ranked 21st.
The No.21 ranking in the D3football poll is the highest Concordia has been in 2013. The previous top ranking was 22nd before the Cobbers dropped a game to No.5-ranked Bethel. CC was ranked as high as 18th in the AFCA poll on Oct. 7.
Concordia is currently 6-1 on the season and 4-1 in conference play. The Cobbers are tied for second place in the MIAC standings. The six overall wins marks the third straight year that CC has reached the six-win mark which represents an above .500 record for a 10-game overall season. It is also the fifth time in the last seven years that Concordia will post a winning final record and the ninth time in head coach Terry Horan's 13-year tenure.
The Cobbers are coming off a 47-20 win over Augsburg which was the program's 500th career victory. Concordia is now one of four colleges in Minnesota which have 500 career wins in football.
The 47 points scored against the Auggies is the most given up by Augsburg this season and the Cobbers were able to limit the high powered Augie offense to just 380 yards after they entered the game averaging 463.0 yards per game.
Concordia is now second in the MIAC in points scored. The Cobbers are averaging 35.6 points in their seven games this season. The Cobbers are currently second in rushing yards per game (208.0) and lead the conference in passing yards per attempt (8.9).
The Cobbers will have a pair of road games before returning home for the final game of the regular season. CC will play at Carleton on Saturday, Nov. 2 and then travel to St. Paul to take on defending MIAC champion St. Thomas on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Complete AFCA national rankings
AFCA Division III Top 25 Poll
1. Mount Union (Ohio) (40)
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) (2)
3. Linfield (Ore.)
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. Wis.-Whitewater
6. Hobart (N.Y.)
7. Wis.-Platteville
8. Bethel (Minn.)
9. Heidelberg (Ohio)
10. Johns Hopkins (Md.)
11. Wabash (Ind.)
12. Illinois Wesleyan
13. John Carroll (Ohio)
14. Wis.-Oshkosh
15. Wittenberg (Ohio)
16. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.)
17. Franklin (Ind.)
18. St. John's (Minn.)
19. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.)
20. Wheaton (Ill.)
21. St. Thomas (Minn.)
22. Wesley (Del.)
23. Millsaps (Miss.)
24. Illinois College
25. Texas Lutheran
Others Receiving Votes: Willamette (Ore.), 52; Wartburg (Iowa), 40; Pacific (Ore.), 30; Gallaudet (D.C.), 21; Lebanon Valley (Pa.), 21; Thomas More (Ky.), 19; Salisbury (Md.), 18; Guilford (N.C.), 9; Ithaca (N.Y.), 7; Rowan (N.J.), 6; Wesleyan (Conn.), 5; Redlands (Calif.), 4; Delaware Valley (Pa.), 3; Louisiana College, 1; Maryville (Tenn.), 1; Widener (Pa.), 1.
Complete D3football.com national rankings
D3football.com Top 25 (Week 8)
1. Mount Union (16)
2. Linfield (6)
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor (3)
4. North Central (Ill.)
5. Bethel
6. UW-Whitewater
7. Hobart
8. UW-Platteville
9. Heidelberg
10. UW-Oshkosh
11. Franklin
12. Johns Hopkins
13. Illinois Wesleyan
14. Wabash
15. John Carroll
16. Pacific Lutheran
17. Wittenberg
18. St. Thomas
19. Wheaton (Ill.)
20. Wesley
21. Concordia-Moorhead
22. St. John's
23. Salisbury
24. Illinois College
25. Willamette
Others receiving votes: Millsaps 34; Ithaca 31; Wartburg 31; Maryville (Tenn.) 15; Lebanon Valley 15; Thomas More 13; Coe 9; Pacific 8; Trinity (Conn.) 5; Redlands 3; Framingham State 3; Texas Lutheran 3; Louisiana College 3; Wesleyan 1.